A pair of Conference USA teams take the floor in the Lone Star State looking to take the top spot in conference play. The North Texas Mean Green is on the road as they travel to face the UTSA Roadrunners Saturday afternoon. North Texas dropped UTEP 58-51 on the road in their last game Thursday night. UTSA ran to a 95-79 win over Rice at home Thursday night in their last game. The Mean Green leads the all-time regular season series 15-11 and has taken the last four meetings, including an 80-62 win at home in the last meeting on March 1, 2018.

North Texas Mean Green Shoot to Remain Unbeaten in Conference Play

North Texas rung up an eighth straight win and ran their mark to 16-1 on the season by downing UTEP in a defensive struggle. The Mean Green looks to ring up nine straight wins and maintain their perfect mark in conference play. North Texas was tied at 22 at the half but opened up a 41-28 edge with 13:34 to play in the game. The Mean Green managed to withstand the Miners’ rallies as the lead didn’t drop below two the rest of the way. North Texas shot 41.1 percent from the field, including six of 15 from three point range, and won the rebounding battle 43-28 to offset 19 turnovers. Roosevelt Smart and Umoja Gibson each had 13 points to lead the way for the Mean Green.

The Mean Green puts up an average of 75.7 points per game on the season. North Texas hauls down 37.6 boards per contest and passes out 13.6 assists per game. The Mean Green is stifling on the defensive end of the floor, ranking 14th by allowing 60.9 points a night. North Texas is led by Ryan Woolridge, who puts up 12.3 points, 6.2 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.9 steals per game this season. Umoja Gibson (12.3 points), Michael Miller (11.3 points), Zachary Simmons (11.9 points, 6.8 boards), Roosevelt Smart (11.1 points) and Jorden Duffy (9.6 points, 4.1 rebounds) each are solid scoring options this season. DJ Draper and Jahmiah Simmons are also key contributors for the Mean Green, averaging at least 4.1 points a night. North Texas is shooting 47.9 percent from the field as a team this season. The Mean Green hits 8.9 three pointers a night while shooting 38.5 percent from beyond the arc. North Texas is struggling at the free throw line as they shoot 68.8 percent as a team at the stripe.

UTSA Roadrunners Seek to Upend Mean Green, Take Over Top Spot

UTSA rolled to a sixth straight win as they took care of business against Rice at home Thursday night. The Roadrunners will try to snap their skid against North Texas and take over the top spot in Conference USA. UTSA led by nine at the half and saw their lead trimmed to four early in the second half before restoring control with a 16-4 run. The Roadrunners didn’t look back after that en route to the victory. UTSA shot 49.3 percent from the field and connected on 12 of 31 three point attempts in the game while forcing 15 Rice turnovers. Jhivvan Jackson led UTSA with 24 points in the victory.

The Roadrunners come into this contest averaging 75.7 points per game on the season. UTSA collects 38.9 rebounds per night and dishes out 11.8 assists per contest this year. The Roadrunners are below average defensively as they come in tied for 228th in the nation in scoring defense by allowing 73.4 points a game. Keaton Wallace is second on the team with 18.3 points plus 4.4 rebounds per contest. Jhivvan Jackson is the only other player scoring in double figures with 20.8 points per game. Nick Allen, Byron Frohnen, Giovanni De Nicolao, Atem Bior and Adokiye Iyaye all average at least 5.4 points per game this season. UTSA is having their issues shooting the ball as they hit 42 percent from the floor as a team. The Roadrunners knock down eight triples a night while having a 32.2 percent success rate from beyond the arc. UTSA is good at the free throw line as they convert 74.5 percent at the stripe.

Notable Trends

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Mean Green Eagles are 17-5 ATS in their last 22 road games

Mean Green Eagles are 16-5 ATS in their last 21 road games vs. a team with a winning home record

Mean Green Eagles are 12-4 ATS in their last 16 road games vs. a team with a home winning % of greater than .600

The Bottom Line What to bet on this game.

Full-Game Side Bet

Rating:

North Texas is on a roll right now and they have a ton of weapons to work with on the offensive end of the floor. The Mean Green is tremendous on the defensive end of the floor as they are a top 20 program in scoring defense this season. While UTSA is putting together a strong start to the season and they are on a win streak of their own right now, they’re pretty much a two man team between Wallace and Jackson. The lack of scoring depth sinks the Roadrunners here: look for the Mean Green to get the win.

Prediction: North Texas Mean Green -2

Full-Game Total Pick

Rating:

North Texas has been rolling along and entering Friday, they were one of two teams in Division I with 16 wins: Michigan (16-0) was the other. The Mean Green has been excellent on both ends of the floor as they can put up points and limit the opposition from scoring this season. UTSA has their work cut out for them trying to get past the Mean Green’s defense and slowing their offensive attack. Can the Roadrunners take advantage of being at home to get the victory here?

The under is 4-0 in the Roadrunners’ last 4 games after scoring more than 90 points in their previous game, 4-0 in their last 4 games vs. a team with a winning % above .600 and 4-0 in their last 4 home games vs. a team with a winning road record. North Texas has seen the under go 7-1-2 in their last 10 vs. Conference USA opponents and 4-1 in their last 5 road games vs. a team with a home winning % of greater than .600. The under is 4-0 in the last 4 meetings in Texas-San Antonio and 6-1 in the last 7 meetings. Look for this one to end up under the number here.

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Chris Kubala

Christopher Kubala has been crunching stats and following sports for over 30 years. His in depth analysis and passion for sports have led him to writing books about sports, regularly being featured on sports talk radio and as the go-to person for any obscure trivia. He keeps an eye on transactions and statistics like a hawk, especially when it comes to football, both the NFL and college, the NHL, the NBA and college basketball and MLB.